Hard to look past the big three for JFC
WITH the big guns all kept apart in the Junior Championship draw last March, the stage is set for a Titanic battle in the knockout stages.
Unfortunately that could mean some one-sided contests in the meantime as the als-rans are discarded en-route.
That’s not to say that a surprise winner isn’t possible as St Kevin’s showed last summer but the smart money will be on one of Glen Emmets, Glyde Rangers and Roche Emmets to claim Christy Bellew glory come September.
There’s a lot of football to be played between now and then, but it’s hard to look beyond that trio.
Glen Emmets have been knocking loudly on the door for a few years now but they will have to negotiate the campaign without Conor Grimes.
However, they have coped pretty well without their talisman in Division 2 and they will be confident they can top this championship group, with the biggest threat coming from Stabannon Parnells.
It’s a daunting section for an improving Cuchulainn Gaels side.
Beaten finalists in 2015, Roche will be bitterly disappointed with their quarter-final showing against the Tullyallen men last term, but they too will be hot favourites to see off Lannleire and Dowdallshill in Group C.
Despite facing many of these sides in Division 3 last season, the junior grade will be a new experience for Glyde Rangers, but the Tallanstown outfit will be keen to bounce straight back to intermediate and will feel they should have the measure of St Nicholas and Naomh Malachi in Group B.
Group D is definitely the trickiest to predict. Sean McDermotts and Westerns will be favourites for the four-team section, but John Mitchels and Wolfe Tones will fancy their chances of causing an upset or two.
Thereafter the new open draw format should make things interesting, but with first still playing second in the quarter-finals, the big guns should still avoid each other until the semi-finals.
Roche’s league form is probably the strongest amongst the big-hitters, but they have a couple of monkeys to shake off their backs in the shape of a humiliating 2015 final defeat and a smaller, but no less comprehensive quarter-final loss to Glen Emmets last term.
It remains to be seen if Glen Emmets can cope in the really big games without Grimes and the suspicion is they will come up short.
Eager to bounce straight back to intermediate, Glyde Rangers are going well in Division 3 and may just have the hunger and poise to solve this puzzle.